Colorado cannabis sales reach $1 billion in eight months

Marijuana sales are through the roof in Colorado, and the numbers are escalating quickly: In 2017 it took just eight months to reach the lauded billion-dollar mark, while in 2016 it took 10 months.

Cannabis retailers recorded $1.02 billion in recreational and medicinal sales through August. Year to date sales went up 21 percent from the first eight months of 2016, when the total came in at $846.5 million.This year, the taxes from total sales will equal more than $162 million in taxes and fees for Colorado’s treasury, which means great things for the state, its schools and other programs.

In August alone, sales of cannabis itself, concentrates, edibles and the accessories to ingest them with all equaled out to almost $137 million, a little over $100 million of which came from recreational sales, while the rest of the money was comprised of medical marijuana sales.

The latest report from The Colorado Department of Revenue lists cannabis taxes, fees and licenses sent in September. The receipts are almost entirely from August, though there is the potential for late returns and other discrepancies to have occurred.

Being the second full month that cannabis is being taxed differently and with an alternative structure, the monthly tax data is coming in with additional requirements. The report is now reflecting, “a period of transition,” officials say.Due to the new tax law, rates on recreational cannabis went up from 10 percent to 15 percent in July. The new law also exempts recreational marijuana from the 2.9 percent sales tax that’s standard across Colorado. Medical marijuana was not subject to a tax hike, but is still beholden to the 2.9 percent sales tax.

Experts project that these spikes in annual growth will even out as the market matures and more states go the legal route. Steady growth since 2014, however, is still a very good thing indeed for Colorado’s coffers.